Details: Published: April 13, 2022

A low waterfall on a forested river This course will include a field trip to Chickasaw National Recreation Area. (NPS Photo)

Join us for three days of training with native informal educators from across the South Central Region who recognize the importance of teaching climate change. Participants are encouraged to apply as teams of 3–5 collaborators (e.g. Tribal environment and education staff). You will work with these teams to develop plans to implement an youth outreach activity in your tribal community!

- When: July 20–22, 2022
- Where: Chickasaw Retreat and Conference Center, Sulphur, OK
- Applications are closed

This workshop will be packed with exciting topics and fun activities for you to bring back to your community, including;

A large building at sunset with many windows Chickasaw Retreat and Conference Center

NASA Arctic & Earth Signs Training
NASA Living Landscape Project
Shar-A-Thon of Youth Activities
Field Trip to Chickasaw National Recreation Area

View course flyer

Contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. with questions.

Course Website (Participants Only)

Earth to Sky is coming to Zoo Miami on April 23-26^th, 2024!

Applications Are Now Closed.

There’s never been a better time to engage your visitors, staff, and communities about the impacts and implications of climate change in south Florida. Join colleagues in a supportive community of practice to learn about the science of climate change and share best practices in climate communication.

“Florida Squeezed” will provide you with a foundation in climate science with an emphasis on the connection between global to local processes and on climate impacts in south Florida. Participants will discuss and practice proven methods for successful climate communication and connect with the growing Earth to Sky community of practice – over 1500 communicators and scientists from a variety of organizations improving and sharing their expertise on this topic. You will leave the course armed with knowledge about cutting-edge climate science and a plan for bringing the climate story to your visitors in engaging and inspiring ways.

Course Logistics

This course is hosted by Earth to Sky in partnership with NASA, the National Park Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and Zoo Miami.
9:00 am - 3:30 pm daily commuter-friendly schedule. No tuition fee.
Travel and lodging expenses are the responsibility of participants and/or their institutions.
A block of nearby hotel rooms will be reserved for course participants.
Food is available for purchase onsite, participants are encouraged to bring their own lunches.

Target Audience

Interpretive managers, frontline interpretive staff, tour operators, informal educators, and science commnicators at federal, state, or municipal agencies, non-profit, and private organizations. Knowledge of climate science is not required. Participants from Florida and the Caribbean are especially encouraged to apply.

Course Objectives

Upon completion of the course, participants will be able to:

Design and execute an action plan to produce a climate change education, outreach, and/or interpretative product/program.
Engage with the Earth to Sky community, both regionally and nationally, to exchange ideas and expertise.
Describe how connections between global, regional, and local Earth processes and climate change are affecting the ecosystems, economies and communities in the region.
Identify and apply audience-appropriate communication techniques, such as metaphor, analogy, visual imagery, storytelling, dialogic questions, or co-creation of knowledge in their product/program.
Access relevant, audience-appropriate NASA science content and/or educational/visual elements to use in their product/program.

The Florida Squeezed course will emphasize experiential learning. It will start with a few distance-learning components that participants are required to complete prior to attending the four days of face-to-face sessions at Zoo Miami. Participants are expected to be present and fully participate in all of the face-to-face sessions. Approximately four months later, a one-hour webinar will be held for participants to share progress and challenges, and receive feedback/assistance in executing their action plans. The collegial atmosphere of this course will provide participants with many opportunities to engage with scientists, communication practitioners, and colleagues in collaborative learning.

Face-to-Face Sessions at Zoo Miami

Scientists from NASA and other national agencies will present climate science in both global and regional contexts followed by discussion sessions to apply
that content in participants’ work settings.
A field trip to Everglades National Park will serve as a case study illustrating climate science/research and a model for climate communication.
Dedicated time to work with colleagues and experienced mentors as part of a regional community of practice. Work collaboratively to create an action plan for developing a product or program applying course content for use in their site or organization. Participants are encouraged to reach out to internal and external collaborators as they execute these action plans.

Expectations of Participants

Complete preliminary assignments in preparation for the face-to-face sessions.
Be present and fully participate in all four days of face-to-face sessions.
Create an Action Plan for developing an interpretive, educational or outreach product or program applying course content.
Participate in post-course reporting and evaluations, including a one-hour follow-up webinar with fellow course participants.

Application Process

Applications are closed. In order to attend this course, participants should have prior experience in communications (i.e., interpretation, environmental education, outreach, and/or public affairs). Individuals must complete the Application Form illustrating their interest and experience in climate change communications. Experience or knowledge of climate science is not a prerequisite. Applicants must obtain approval from their supervisor before applying.

The course planning team will carefully review and make selections based on information provided in your Application Form. The maximum class size is 30. Those not selected during the first round will be placed on a waitlist to backfill any cancellations.

About Earth to Sky

Earth to Sky (ETS) is an ongoing and expanding partnership between NASA, the National Park Service, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Since 2004, the partnership has conducted many professional development events on the topic of climate change. https://www.earthtosky.org.

Questions?

Contact our Earth to Sky course coordinator John Ceballos: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Details: Published: August 4, 2023

A crystal blue lake, forested hills, and a cloud-spotted blue sky.

Ignite:

Sparking Local Climate Change Conversations

in Central Idaho

November 7-9, 2023

McCall, Idaho

Apply now!

Earth to Sky Idaho is hosting our second climate communication workshop in McCall, Idaho. During three days in Ponderosa State Park, formal and informal educators will be exposed to innovative pedagogy and techniques for framing climate change. Educators will focus on the science of wildfire in the context of global environmental change. Joined by fire ecologists, land managers, and local professors, we will explore:

The connections between global climate changes and Idahoans
The ecological and cultural shifts contributing to changing fire regimes in Idaho
Ways to overcome barriers to effective climate change communication
Demographics on Idahoans’ climate change opinions
Effective use of storytelling to connect diverse audiences to science concepts

With a recognition that learning is most productive when applied, participants will have time every day to start putting new ideas into practice. With feedback from NASA coaches and peers in the workshop, participants will create a climate outreach product to bring back to their educational institution.

The ETS Idaho team coordinators have diverse experience in environmental education, with years of experience as naturalists, national park interpreters, outdoor school instructors, backcountry guides, and science communicators. We will spend a day in Ponderosa State Park modeling how outdoor field experiences can effectively connect your participants to climate science.

Lodging and food are provided. Stipends for eligible informal educators are available, and 2 Professional Development credits are available for formal educators.

Interested in learning more? Contact "bw @ cityofboise.org" with the subject “Ignite Workshop."

Want to know what our past participants thought?

“I loved participating in the hands-on activities. Presentations can be hard to sit through, no matter how interesting they are. When I'm working with students, I know that they sit through lots of presentations, and I find the real value is in engaging them. So, I loved learning new ways to do that and plan on incorporating many of the activities from this workshop into our curriculum!”

“(I most valued)…the lessons and thinking about incorporating new ways of learning using emotional learning and storytelling. I found the activities we did to be so wonderful and plan on using all of them. I feel like I have new ways to help my students access topics that can be difficult...”

“This workshop seamlessly incorporated emotions with science. I've never thought to do that, and I can now see the value, and the possibilities.”

“I leave feeling refreshed on how to communicate, teach, share climate knowledge in an accessible way”

Image: The view from Osprey Point at Ponderosa State Park. Photo Credit: Idaho Parks and Recreation.

Details: Published: July 18, 2023

A glacier spills into the ocean below an ice-capped mountain

“Not everything that is faced can be changed; but nothing can be changed until it is faced.”

-James Baldwin

Facing Change: Communicating Climate Connections In Coastal Alaska

Tuseday October 31st - Thursday November 2nd, 2023

Juneau, Alaska

Earth to Sky Coastal Alaska Course and Community of Practice: A Regional Approach

There’s never been a better time to engage your visitors, staff, and communities about the impacts and implications of climate change in Coastal Alaska. Join with colleagues in a supportive community of practice to learn about the science of climate change and share best practices in climate communication.

The Facing Change: Communicating Climate Connections in Coastal Alaska course provides you with a foundation in climate science with an emphasis on the connection between global to local processes and on climate impacts in the coastal areas of Alaska. Participants will discuss and practice proven methods for successful climate communication and connect with the growing Earth to Sky community of practice – over 700 communicators and scientists from a variety of organizations improving and sharing their expertise on this topic. You will leave the course armed with knowledge about cutting-edge climate science and a plan for bringing the climate story to your visitors in engaging and inspiring ways.

There are some fabulous presenters lined up, including Dr. Eran Hood, University of Alaska Southeast Professor of Environmental Science; Dr. Michael Loso, Geologist at Wrangell-St. Elias National Park & Preserve; Dr. Kristin Timm, Research Associate at the Alaska Climate Adaptation Science Center at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, National Park Service Interpreters, and more!

Offered through the Earth to Sky (ETS) NASA-NPS interagency partnership
No tuition fee
Travel expenses are the responsibility of participants and/or their institutions.

Course Goal

Our course goal is to inspire courage, hope and action in communicators and visitors to Coastal Alaska by engaging in compelling, clear and concise conversations about the wonders of the environment and the impacts of the climate crisis, in order to increase the resiliency of our communities.

Course Structure

This course emphasizes experiential learning. It starts with a few distance-learning components that participants are required to complete prior to attending the three days of face-to-face sessions in Juneau, Alaska. Participants are expected to be present and fully participate in all the face-to-face sessions. Approximately four months later, a one-hour webinar will be held for participants to share progress and challenges and receive feedback/assistance in executing their action plans. The collegial atmosphere of this course provides participants with many opportunities to engage with scientists, communication practitioners, and colleagues in collaborative learning.

Face-to-Face Sessions in Juneau

NASA scientists and other national agencies will present climate science in both global and regional contexts followed by discussion sessions to apply that content in participants’ work setting.
A field trip to the Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center will explore how to engage visitors in climate science messaging in a wide variety of ways.
Dedicated time to work with colleagues, coaches, and experienced mentors as part of a regional community of practice to create an action plan for developing a product or program applying course content for use in their site or organization. Participants are encouraged to reach out to internal and external communities as they execute these action plans.
Opportunities to meet and talk with world-class climate scientists, including NASA scientists studying changes in Coastal Alaska.
Learn climate change communication best practices through presentations from ETS alumni.
Practice selected communication methodology appropriate to participants’ work settings.
Sessions held at the University of Alaska Southeast campus Glacier View Room.

Preliminary Assignments

These will be referred to and used during the face-to-face sessions.

Complete on-demand web-based module on Earth system science (1-2 hours)
View climate science essentials videos: Carbon Cycle, and Energy Budget (1 hour)
Conduct interview with subject matter expert about climate using provided outline (1 hour)
Read short excerpt from CRED Psychology of Climate Change Communication (20 min)
Read excerpt from the Norms of Collaboration (30 min)
Read article about Communities of Practice

To access the preliminary assignments, register for a free account on Earth to Sky. After your account has been approved by an administrator, you will be able to access the preliminary assignments.

Photo credit: NPS/Jamie Hart